Clay stone glacial concretions are known by many names around the world. For example, they are called “Imatra Stones” in Finland, “Fairy Stones” in Scotland, Ireland and Quebec, and “Mud-babies” or “Clay Dogs” in Connecticut.

The stones we offer were picked on the shores of the Harricana River, Abitibi, Quebec, Canada, these pebbles have been formed thousands of years ago. They are made of fine sand and clay, solidified by nature. The originality and the forms of these stones are a phenomenon unique to Northern Quebec, especially on the bottom of the big Lakes with a glacier origin. The superior face of the concretion is usually smooth and regular as for the interior face, it is often rough with puffed up spheres. The irregular lines on certain stones are caused by the traces left by miniature worms or organic remains which were fossilized thousands of years ago. As if the earth wanted to keep them in the memory...

The Algonquins called them “Fairy Stones” and often carried them as luck charms when they went on fishing or hunting expedition. The lovers offered the most beautiful “Fairy Stones” to their loved ones. The biggest specimens occupied a place of honor in their homes, or according to the legend, these stones assured a protection against the bad spirits. They also brought good health and prosperity to the occupants of the premises.

These “FAIRY STONES” are at the origin of the name “HARRICANA RIVER”. In fact, when the first ALGONQUINS come up the river towards Abitibi, a stop on these beaches made them realize the presence of these pebbles which for them, strangely looked like “BISCUITS”. This is the reason why they named the river “HARRICANA” which means: “RIVER OF THE BISCUITS” in the ALGONQUIN language.

These specimens are found in the soft deposits of the Quaternary where they were found in the ponds having occupied the depression of the retreat of the glacial front; subsequently they were carried by the water and deposited on the shores of the lakes and rivers.

Some Clay Concretions emerge from the ground but the majority of these stones are collected by digging the clay soil delicately in order to avoid any breaking or distortion and preserve their authenticity. Stones are different colors based upon their discovery location. Once found, the stones are cleaned and dried. A light coat of sealant is then applied to bring a sheen and prevent scratching. This coating also prevents the natural oils in your fingers from discoloring the specimen. These can easily be returned to their uncoated natural state by soaking the specimen in 1 cup of warm water with 2 tablespoons of vinegar for 15 minutes. Brush the stone gently with a toothbrush, rinse well several times and dry. You now have the natural specimen.

Unusual rocks on north Cook Inlet beach and were found by Michael Carlson in 2001. These have become known as Cook Inlet Concretions,

Similar Concretions from Canada are called Fairy Stones. These are called Turtle Rocks or Spirit Stones by the locals and native Alaskans. Most of the concretions we have seen and listed before are mostly flat. These are thick concretions that are heavy. They are actually formed with a smooth top surface usually buried in the ocean floor and are actually found at low tide when one can get further into the hidden secrets that the oceans hide. The stones are concretions, rocks that form in layers around some object, like a grain of sand.

While Carlson thinks the stones are over 10,000 years old, Pete Stelling of the University of Alaska Anchorage Department of Geological Sciences said they may be even older. “What he’s finding is from quaternary sediments, which means less than 2 million years old,” Stelling said. Stelling used the analogy of a pearl in describing how the concretions formed into such intriguing rocks.

Carlson thinks the rocks may have formed under a glacier, which retreated thousands of years ago. Stelling said that glaciers in that area formed what is known as the Kenai Fjords, but he’s not sure that the rocks formed under a glacier.

Dr. LeeAnn Munk, Assistant Department Chair in UAA’s Department of Geological Sciences, thinks it’s more likely that the rocks “were weathered from a rock in the nearby area and transported by the glacier, and then melt water, and eventually deposited into the inlet.”

The rounded shapes come from growing face down in the clay. The tops are more likely to be smoothed by the water. But find one, turn it over, and you begin to see many different shapes and formations — each one a treasure chest of possibilities to itself.

“Once you form a concretion, and it’s a solid piece of rock, everything else gets stable,” Stelling said. “Once the concretion starts to weather away, then part of it can wash away and part of it can make really interesting patterns.”

Some are darker than others. Those that haven’t been jostled from a longtime resting place are lighter in color, very smooth in texture. The darker ones have usually been moved about.

“All of them were laid (design-side down), you couldn’t even see the back of it. They’re like a turtle shell, laid right in the clay.

Could there be something mystical, magical or even amusing in the rocks? Carlson thinks what you see is what you get; that is, if you just see rocks, that’s what you have, or if you see spirits, then that’s what you have, as well.